Ruhl Walker Architects

We were encouraged to read last month that the non-profit, Architecture 2030 announced some rare good news from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) that shows that energy usage by commercial and residential buildings in the US has dropped so dramatically in the last 7 years that the EIA’s projections for building energy usage in the year 2030 are now almost 70% lower than their projections were in 2005.  While the reduction in energy consumption by buildings contributes dramatically to reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, these lower energy usage projections also translate into an astonishing savings in energy costs, projected to be $3.66 trillion between 2012 and 2030 in the US alone. If we continue to incorporate the most ambitiously sustainable building technologies at our disposal, these savings could top $6 trillion, and energy consumption and CO2 emissions in 2030 could actually fall substantially below 2005 levels.

One reason for this dramatic improvement is that architects and our builder collaborators have aggressively integrated sustainable building technologies into our daily routines, and our clients have enthusiastically joined our efforts. How can you help build on this momentum? Hire architects who not only care, but have the knowledge to help you design and build sustainably.  We love helping our clients benefit from lower utility bills while they contribute to a better future for our planet.

To read the full Architecture 2030 report, click here.

The new native species gardens are growing in nicely at the new facility Ruhl Walker Architects designed for the Hawai’i Wildlife Center on the Big Island of Hawai’i, and the construction team at TDI is making great progress towards the official opening in November. Rough plumbing, electrical, and mechanical work are installed and ready for the interior finish work.  

Our partners at Rhoady Lee Architecture and Design are managing the day to day construction administration process which is great except it means for Will there is no longer a regular excuse to visit the islands, unlike the last few years… It’s been great collaborating with Rhoady and Aaron; they’ve been helping us on the HWC, and we’ve in turn collaborated with them on several residential projects, including a recently completed house at the Hualalai Resort, home to the fabulous Four Seasons.  In fact, our senior associate, Sandra Baron, spent 6 weeks working in their office in Waimea during the detailing push for that house, 3 weeks each on two separate occasions.  Aaron, when are you coming to Boston?!

The outpouring of community support for the HWC continues to be amazing. On June 15^th, a contingent of Marines – members of Wing Support Squadron 171, stationed in Iwakuni, Japan, but currently training at the Pohakuloa Training Area on the Big Island – joined Linda Elliott and others to assemble enormous lava rock slabs into benches and tables within the interpretive courtyard. The slabs had been donated by Ryan Associates.

November can’t come soon enough!

Please join us in supporting the Hawai’i Wildlife Center by donating online here!

Exterior view of the main façade of the HWC, seen from the parking area, towards the lanai and open-air education pavilion.	Exterior view of the main entrance to the HWC, with the staging porch (open air triage space) on the left.
A vibrantly painted blue planar wall continues from the entrance lanai into the reception area.	The members of Wing Support Squadron 171, stationed in Iwakuni, Japan, but currently training at the Pohakuloa Training Area on the Big Island, ready to assemble the lava rock slabs into benches and tables for the interpretative courtyard.
The ventilation system will not only cool the injured endangered species being cared for, but also will provide the required air exchanges that will improve their healing more quickly; air conditioning will be minimal despite the tropical climate, due to excellent cross ventilation and reliable tradewinds.	The elaborate plumbing systems will be able to handle major oil spills as well as day to day rehabilitation needs.

As part of our commitment to annually contribute a minimum of 1% of our time to pro bono causes, Ruhl Walker Architects has been working with the Hawai’i Wildlife Center since 2006 on Hawai’i's first and only native wildlife recovery, rehabilitation, and education center. The HWC is located in Halaula, Hawai’i, on the Big Island of Hawai’i. 

It is difficult to think about problems of any kind amidst the overwhelming natural beauty of the Hawaiian Islands, but the sad truth is that the Islands are host to more threatened and endangered native species per square mile than any other place in the world. A report from 2010 on Climate Change states that 93% of Hawaiian birds are at medium to high vulnerability. In February 2007, the American Bird Conservancy (ABC) declared that the forests of the Hawaiian Islands are the most threatened bird habitat in the United States. The ABC stated that “most (native species) are dependent on vigilant conservation measures to survive at all.” Having seen many of the Big Island’s native birds on a recent trip sponsored by HWC founder and director, Linda Elliott, and renowned wildlife biologist and widely published photographer, Jack Jeffry, project architect Will Ruhl has an even more profound feeling of the urgency for this facility. The BP oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico is all the proof one needs that tragedy can occur even in paradise.

This continues to be a labor of love as we progress with fund raising to complete the interiors of the HWC; needless to say, fund raising has been particularly difficult due to the Great Recession! But we are proud to be part of an amazing team of architects from Boston and Waimea, engineers from California and Hawai’i, a landscape architect from Oahu who grew up near the HWC site, construction managers from Hawi, and many local contractors and subcontractors who have contributed so much of their time and donated materials. The spirit of aloha is alive and well!

The interiors of the HWC are framed and roughed, but the good news is that the exterior shell and rough landscape, grading, and parking is now substantially complete.

The Hawai'i Wildlife Center from Lighthouse Road.	The HWC with, from left to right, staging porch, entrance to rehabilitation facility, central public lanai, and open air classroom.
The front facade of the HWC is composed of fiber cement siding that alternates from solid lap siding to slats spaced apart at different intervals to allow natural ventilation into the education pavilion and staging porch.	The entrance to the HWC treatment facility is defined by planes of vibrant color set within an otherwise monochromatic composition the HWC's lanai will eventually lead to a native species garden, currently being propogated by a local school group, and will house educational displays focusing on native endangered species.
The front wall of the staging porch -- essentially the emergency room entrance for delivering injured birds -- is sheathed with composite siding held apart to allow natural ventilation, a new take on an old agricultural building tradition.	The side walls of the education pavilion are sheathed with clear corrugated polycarbonate paneling, allowing natural illumination into the space while also keeping out the prevalent rain and mist that North Kohala is known for.
Entry to the open air education pavilion is through the central lanai.	Closeup view of the slatted front plane of the education pavilion seen through the corrugated polycarbonate paneling.
The HWC will host talks to local school groups, educational outreach on environmental issues to locals, and talks geared towards vacationers.	By varying the size of the composite slats as well as the openings between slats, a virtual "window" was created in the front facade of the education pavilion.